Roundtable roundup: The role of technology in taking live sport broadcast to the next level
October 6, 2022
One of the main challenges facing broadcasters is storytelling, and how to use technology to help tell that story to the viewer at home.
We are seeing more and more technological innovations on our broadcasts from the now famous Monday Night Football Sky Pad to an augmented reality Eagle flying over stadiums before the IPL Final.
Quidich, the makers of the AR Eagle, were the thought leaders in the room at our latest iSportConnect Roundtable which brought together people from DAZN, ATP Media, Aurora Media and ITV amongst others.
Here are the key findings from the event:
“It is all well and good having lots of data, but you have to be able to show it on the screen and it has to be clear to people in terms of storytelling.”
The battle of having multiple data points but the challenge being on how to show/inculcate the data into an interesting story telling experience for the viewers, without having to move away from the live action.
“We will change the length of certain parts of shows depending on if they are getting a lot of talk on social media or not”
Social Media is a massive part of everyone’s lives and the instant feedback it gives broadcasters is valuable. You used to have to wait for the ratings or letters of complaint to come in but now with social media, broadcasters can change the line-ups of their shows on the fly.
“It is a benefit to build the audience into what the product looks like”
At the end of the day, the product is for one group of people and that isn’t the competitors, it is for the audience. The blank canvas new sports have gives them the opportunity to ask the audience what they would like and build their response into their product. It is an exciting place to be.
“We like to bring in second screen experiences for innovation”
Second screens are seen as a place where you can innovate and give fans new experiences without taking away from the live event that is taking place on the first screen. If innovations work and really add to the experience then broadcasters can look at adding them to their linear broadcast.
